We have ourselves a series now.
The Dallas Stars couldn’t hold home ice in Game 2 as the St. Louis Blues skated away with a 4-3 win in overtime. The series is now tied at one game each as it now moves to St. Louis for Game 3 Tuesday night. The Stars are on the verge of trailing in a series for the first time this postseason.
“Obviously we are disappointed at the outcome last night,” said Stars center Vernon Fiddler. “But it’s a best-of-five now and we are heading out on the road so you want to get the first game. That’s what we are worried about right now.”
The question going into Game 3 will be who starts at goalie. Kari Lehtonen got the call in Game 2, but was chased after 20 minutes of action. The Blues put five shots on Lehtonen in the first period, with three of them finding the back of the net.
“Not much to take from that, more to forget,” said Lehtonen. “Just keep battling and on to the next one.”
So after being pulled in Game 2, was Lehtonen anxious to get back on the practice ice Monday morning?
“I think there is a little bit more to that after things don’t go your way,” said Lehtonen. “You want to get back there and make it right.”
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“I don’t think that game is on Kari last night,” added Stars center Jason Spezza. “Their special teams were better than our special teams.”
Antti Niemi came in relief and got things in check as the Stars fought back from a 3-1 deficit to send it into overtime. The Stars have gone with a two-goalie system during the regular season and it seems like that system stays in play until one goes on a strong run.
“It was something new that we both needed to adjust to, so you better adjust,” said Lehtonen. “I think we made it work very well.”
“It’s a lot of unselfishness they’ve showed being able to split the workload,” said Spezza. “It shows both their mental makeup, how well they get along and how they support each other. When one guy gets pulled, he’s not sulking. He’s helping the other guy out in between periods trying to figure out what they can do better.”
Which netminder gets the call in Game 3 remains to be seen. The puck drops in St. Louis at 8:30 p.m. on the NBC Sports Network.
Other Stars notes:
Head coach Lindy Ruff said both Tyler Seguin and Patrick Eaves skated Monday morning. Neither will travel St. Louis.
